A Little Personality (Laura McGhee)

In this conversation with improv artist and commercial airline pilot Laura McGhee (she/her), we talk about staying calm under pressure, the power of resilience, and how bringing a little humor to the table can save lives.

In addition to being a proud alumna of The Second City Theater Toronto, Laura has an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Western Ontario. In Canada, Laura has written and performed on CBC RADIO and at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. In 2002, Laura became the first person ever to script an entire show for The Second City. It was called Students Rule and toured public and secondary schools across Canada. She has also written and performed in 8 shows of her own. Her one-act play, entitled Joyride, won the Special Merit Award in the 7^th Annual National Playwriting Competition. It has been performed in Vancouver, Orlando and Chicago. Another international credit for Laura was an all-female stage version of Reservoir Dogs entitled, Reservoir Bitches. Reservoir Bitches premiered in Toronto and then played at the DR2 Theater in New York City. Reservoir Bitches received a Canadian Comedy Award Nomination for Best Play and has since been produced by theater companies in Halifax and Minneapolis.

Laura’s television writing credits include the 2001 Canadian Comedy Awards – which aired on THE COMEDY NETWORK and CTV. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for this project. She has also written for the show, Eleven Cameras, which was developed by the CBC. And her screenplay, Breadwinners, made it through to the quarter-finals – out of thousands of entries - in the Scriptapalooza Writing Competition here in the U.S. She has also appeared in Canadian and American television commercials, on numerous shows for THE COMEDY NETWORK and CTV as well as the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME film, Common Ground, with Brittany Murphy.

Several years ago, Laura decided to begin a second career in aviation. She took some time away from entertainment to train to become a pilot. Laura became an Instrument and Multi-Engine-Rated Commercial Pilot as well as a Certified Flight Instructor. This past year, she acquired her Airline Transport Pilot certification and is type-rated in an Embraer 175 and presently flies for United ExpressJet Airlines.

In Los Angeles, Laura was accepted into the PlayGround –LA Writers Pool at the Zephyr Theater for their 2015/2016 season. Her play, A-Types, premiered at The Second City Hollywood the next year. Laura has also taught and directed improv and sketch comedy at The Second City Hollywood for the past 5 years. And she created and hosts a monthly improv show there called HIT Show – Historical Improv Theater.

Laura’s latest creative endeavor is an amalgamation of her two loves – writing and flying. She has a Web series about her flying experiences as a flight instructor, entitled Lady Pilot – www.lady-pilot.com … “We’re not lady pilots. We’re just pilots”.

 

Host: Emily Stamets